Salonia,

We've been saddled with some researchers who can't go four steps without examining something and they fight about as well as you'd think...probably worse. Stromm, at least, has some magical competence but none of them can swing a sword. Erj and Krag seem up to something so I'll have to keep an eye on them, but Saubs assures me they're trustworthy.

Alethius

“The real reason Calcelmo didn’t want to let me in was because he already had another group of researchers in here. Who knows what they’ve touched by now.” Remiel complained as Athias read over the note she handed him, a frown souring her features. He passed it off to Auri and kneeled to examine the body it came from.

A dead imperial, his plain leather armor torn and lined with crusted blood from jagged gashes. There was something else too. Faint green remnants of another substance mixed with the blood. It would’ve been easy to blame it on the frostbite spiders but just a bit of extra thought kept that from adding up.

If the spiders had done this why hadn’t they webbed up and eaten their prey? The wounds, far from clean slashes, were still too uniform to have been a product of the creatures’ many legs. It was subtle, but he was also certain the color of the mysterious green liquid was a few shades darker than the venom the spiders spewed. A product of prolonged exposure to air or a different substance entirely?

“We’re going to keep going right? I doubt that old bastard will actually let us do what we want here once he knows the spider has been taken care of.” Remiel said, dagger raised to the wall of webs, struggling to hold herself back.

“I do want to see what’s inside.” Athias admitted. Suspicions about what other creatures awaited them further in aside, he wanted to catch a glimpse of an active automaton and maybe earn that perk point while he was at it. If they were really lucky, there might be a few inactive ones with soul gems free for the taking. He might not know how to enchant things but having the needed tools on standby would be a big help in the future.

The three of them were a little dirtied but none the worse for wear. Delving deeper wouldn’t hurt.

Remiel had taken his words as confirmation, already tearing into the webs. Dwarven make or not, the dagger was just too small to make any real headway. A flick of his wrist and a flash of weak flames made short work of the webs, revealing the old dwemer door.

Remiel yelped and leap back from the spreading flames. She settled down after noticing his outstretched hand, a sheep smile in place. “Somehow I completely forgot you could do that. Who knew hiring a mage would make things so convenient?”

“I wouldn’t call myself a mage.” Athias said. Maybe something more along the lines of a spellsword? At least he was pretty sure that was the term that most aptly described how he preferred to fight; magic trivialized many things but he loved being in the thick of the action when he could. “I think people would call me- and she’s not even listening.”

Remiel, unable to contain her eagerness, walked away from him mid-conversation, pulling the switch beside the large door. She couldn’t be bothered to wait on the thing to open up, pushing against it to try and hurry the process.

“Reminds me of a certain someone I know.” Auri said with a slight grin.

Athias scoffed. He wasn’t that bad. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Come on my trusty bodyguards, lets get this thing open and get in there!” Remiel called out for their help. They took up places on either side of her and the old door gave way to their combined strength.

A corridor, dimly lit by the glow of the occasional caged crystal, led downwards into the unknown.

Athias hoped he was wrong about what awaited them.

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He didn’t move.

He didn’t blink.

He didn’t breath.

Still as statues, Athias, Auri, and Remiel stood at the center of one of the corridors leading into the depths of Nchuand-Zel, the crystal in the pillar to their right illuminating them with its soft glow. For all intents and purposes they weren’t hidden in the slightest, plainly visible to anyone and anything that looked their way.

[Falmer]

[Level: 17]

「Health: 120/120 Stamina: 150/150 Magicka: 40/40」

Hunched over and taking slow steps in their general direction, a falmer sniffed the air with its ugly noseless visage, pointed ears twitching in tune with the hum of distant machinery.

It drew closer to them with each passing second.

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They could take this one down easily enough. The two behind it, beyond the open doorway that led into Nchuand-Zel proper, stood on a bridge, bows in hand and arrows ready to be nocked. All of their weaponry, including the jagged sword clutched in the elongated nails of the one approaching, bared a nasty green tint along their edges.

Poison.

They could scarcely afford to be reckless and get hit.

Athias took careful aim with his sword, one hand around the handle and the other beneath the pommel.

One stab.

He would end the creature in one stab then all hell would break lose.

The falmer drew closer to them, stopping just shy of reaching them. It took one more sniff then rose to its full height, sword raised into the air and its mouth opening to reveal a thin row of teeth sharper than Auri’s.

Athias drove his blade through the falmer’s skull.

Arrows flew his way in an instant, their poisoned tips piercing the corpse but failing to reach him. Auri and Remiel fled behind one of the corridors’ eroding pillars, the latter forming a ward to shield them while Auri peaked over it to fire arrows of her own.

Still using the impaled corpse as cover, Athias pushed forward, casting a spell. He formed his magicka into a thin layer atop his skin and, for lack of a better term, commanded it to solidify. He didn’t actually get heavier but a weight fell over his body.

Prepared to brave incoming arrows, Athias tore his blade free of the corpse and shoved it to the wayside. An archer shifted aim back to him. Athias bobbed and weaved around the arrows, but as he grew closer, the projectiles grazing but failing to break his hardened skin, he threw up a ward. It didn’t get a chance to charge up to full strength, shattered after only two arrows, but it got him close enough.

A slice across the legs then a stab to the fallen archer’s chest dispatched it. The other one stopped firing at Auri and aimed at him.

A bone arrow pierced its head but it still managed to release a dying shot. He tried to block it with his sword but it sailed past and hit his chest dead center.

Athias stumbled back but managed to regain his footing before falling off the bridge’s edge. His chest throbbed with pain. Luckily the arrow had snapped, leaving nothing more than a nasty bruise he’d deal with later.

The only good thing in this horrible situation.

This room, a large chamber full of winding bridges that led to different dwemer doors built into hollowed out stone, was soon filled with aggressive cries and gurgles.

He peaked over the edge.

Dozens of Falmer, many wearing armor that these lacked, were rushing up the spiraling pathways. Splashes accompanied their steps, many of the old bronze colored pipes submerged in a body of water at the bottom of the room. Most of the falmer were holding the same sort of a swords and bows as the ones up here. One in particular caught his eye. The falmer, near the back of the rest, held a staff that leaked trace amounts of frost.

Magic.

Leaning back to avoid an arrow from one of the approaching archers, Athias sprinted towards Auri and Remiel who caught on, fleeing back the way they came.

They needed to regroup and come up with a plan of action.

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“How…am I….the only one….out of breath?” Remiel said between pants, whipping sweat from brow.

Compared to her, he and Auri were the picture of health, neither winded and fully prepared to take down any Falmer should they try to force their way through the door that had once been covered in webs. Hopefully the Falmer didn’t know how to operate switches.

There was nothing. No angered grunts, no bangs to the door, no mechanical click to signify the pull of a switch. Remiel’s uneven breaths were all that filled the natural cavern.

“It doesn’t look like they’re following us.” Athias said, blade lowered but one eye kept on the doors. “Did either of you get hit?”

“I'm fine.” Auri said.

“I think I’m dying. Does it look like I’m dying? Because it feels like I’m dying.” Remiel said, mostly being dramatic. At any rate, there were no arrows sticking out of her. “Those things, they’re the Falmer right? I read a little about them during my research into the Dwemer but never saw any before today. Are they only native to Skyrim?”

This time Athias opted to keep his knowledge to himself. He doubted the connection between what the Snow Elves had been and the blind monster-like things they’ve devolved to were as well known as the game made it feel. With how big Skyrim was the average person probably only heard about them in myths and that was stretching it. As long as people kept to the main roads and didn’t go poking their heads into the darkest corners of Skyrim, they’d never see the creatures.

“You both saw their faces, right?” Athias questioned. He could still direct the conversation towards useful conclusions.

“Yes, it looks like those creatures are blind. It’s impressive that they managed to aim so well despite that.” Auri was more amazed than bothered by the danger the creatures presented.

“I believe scent played a role in it as well. Odd considering they barely seem to have a nose.” Remiel, her breath finally under control, cupped her chin. “I may have a theory about why they didn’t follow us.”

“The spiders?” Athias asked.

“Indeed. Those things might be blind but their other senses haven’t suffered. They must have been aware of our giant friend here and decided to keep to the main chamber. Now that we killed it-“

“They’ll eventually realize it and reach the city.” Athias finished. The route the excavation team opened might be more trouble than it’s worth now that Falmer were in play.

“Should we head back and let Calcelmo know?” Auri asked.

“Absolutely not. That old bastard will use this as an excuse to keep us out of here while he grabs up everything for himself. Besides, I have an idea.” Remiel said. “I couldn’t help but notice the distinct lack of automatons since we’ve arrived here. I haven’t noticed any scrap either so that rules out them being destroyed. For whatever reason, I think that Nchuand-Zel’s security system is inactive.”

“All we need to do is sneak around the Falmer, find the control center, and activate it. We’ll let the automatons handle them while we make our escape. Obviously we’ll be grabbing anything of value we find along the way. You two will be rich, the city will be safe, and I will have explored the ruin. It’s a win for everyone.”

“Easier said than done.” Athias pointed out. The Falmer were blind which rendered blur and flash useless. Muffle would help but that didn’t solve their problems at all. “You know a spell to get rid of our scents?”

“Not a spell, but these should get the job done.” Remiel rummaged through her satchel and pulled out a collection of flasks, all different colors. “I do a little potion making on the side but I’m self taught so all my creations have…happy surprises? They also taste horrible and smell worse. If we throw a few of these around that chamber they won’t be able to sniff us out.”

Athias hummed.

It wasn’t a bad idea. It was a horrible one. Any number of things could go wrong and one slip up could see them poisoned then killed. The whole control room business was just guess-work too.

Success wasn’t impossible though.

It looked like he’d be going on his first stealth mission and against the Falmer no less.

This was going to be interesting.